From its stark opening image of a dead cat, Krzysztof Kieslowski's A Short Film About Killing (1988) lives up to its title as it examines the nature of murder -- both legal and illegal -- and the implications of the Biblical edict "Thou shalt not kill." Written by Kieslowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz, the deceptively simple story introduces the three principals, killer, victim, and lawyer, as they go about their day, quietly building tension through the accretion of behavioral details. Managing to humanize the killer without sanctioning his actions, Kieslowski similarly renders the victim a surly jerk who still doesn't deserve his random, violent death, deepening the questions raised by the crime and its punishment. By graphically detailing the process of the murder and the killer's execution, Kieslowski equates the killer's violence and its state-sanctioned response, without absolving either side of responsibility. With a filter lending the washed-out colors a sickly yellow tint, Kieslowski's spare style and desolate Warsaw setting match the story's relentlessly bleak tone. Originally part five of the ten-part Decalogue (1988) based on the Ten Commandments, A Short Film About Killing was expanded and released as a critically acclaimed stand-alone feature, winning two prizes at the Cannes Film Festival.